


Tenerife Sea

by DaniJayNel



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, beach au, collab with Turbotail88
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-18 02:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4688843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniJayNel/pseuds/DaniJayNel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mikasa is a loner by choice and circumstance. This has never bothered her, not until a blonde surfer visits her beach and captures her attention. Maybe Mikasa has been lonely after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tenerife Sea

**Author's Note:**

> This is an unfinished collab that I had started with Turbotail88, a long while ago before we broke up. We didn’t get very far, and after everything, writing together just… wasn’t possible anymore. We don’t even talk. I figured I’d post this, though. Otherwise I’d just delete it. So this is like, our last legacy, or something. I won’t ever finish it. I can’t even read through it, lol, ‘cause it makes me feel too sad. But hey, I hope you guys enjoy it! I’m posting it solely for the Mikaani shippers. There’s not much Mikaani out there. Also, Turbo if you see this and you want me to take it down, I will. Just didn’t feel appropriate contacting you just for a dumb story.

When her alarm sprang to life at seven sharp, she opened her eyes slowly. She reached out languidly to slap the alarm off, and then released a long, tired breath. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat up and then tousled her dishevelled hair.

Friday—just another usual day for one Mikasa Ackerman.

After awakening Mikasa went over to her cupboard and selected a pair of black running shorts as well as a dark purple sports bra. After slipping into them, she pulled her shoulder length hair into a high ponytail, grabbed her running gear, and left the quietness of her expensive beach house.

The sun was warm, but the sand wasn’t hot just yet. Mikasa kept to her usual trail alongside the approaching water, legs pumping steadily as she jogged all around the beach for approximately one hour.

At eight-twenty she returned home panting, and dumped her towel and water bottle by the kitchen table to grab a carton of eggs from the fridge. Her kitchen was modern with black and white colour tones clashing together nicely. All the table tops were black marble, and the floor black tile, though the walls were white.

Breakfast was a quick, quiet affair, and afterwards Mikasa washed her few dishes before changing into her workout clothes for a three hour workout. Many called her insane, while Mikasa simply preferred to use her time wisely to maintain her extremely fit body. If she didn’t, then how would she keep all the muscle she had built? Mikasa wasn’t one to be vain, but she did quite enjoy the many stares she received in public thanks to her toned body.

When her workout was done, Mikasa allowed herself to wonder to her study, coffee in hand, to check on her email. It wasn’t long after logging in and downloading her mail that she sighed lightly, smiling.

‘ _From: erenjeager@email.com_

_To: MikasaAckerman@email.com_

_Subject: MIKASA!!!!_

_Holy fucking shit Mikasa, you won’t believe what Armin and I did! I felt like getting away from the bustle of that god forsaken city, so we took my yacht out and ended up totally stranded! Armin is a smartass, though, so he figured out where we were pretty easily. We then found this small island that isn’t on the map! Yeah! And though Armin suggested we leave, I decided I wanted to check it out. I found this cool cave, and Armin’s curiosity got him to explore it with me. We found all these skeletons and then stumbled upon a fucking coffin! We tried to open it, but then the skeletons came to life and we had to run like hell back to the yacht. Armin kept yelling at me that it was my fault._

_Anyway, how have you been? Haven’t heard from you in weeks! I hope you’re not working your ass off too much, and I don’t mean work. If you keep working out like you do, you’ll be more buff than Reiner. Ha!_

_P.S: Armin has been yelling at me to tell you that he says hi, so, uh, he says hi!’_

Mikasa sipped lightly at her coffee as she read, eyebrow steadily rising. At the end of it she rolled her eyes, shaking her head. There was no way that had actually happened. Eren was known for his overactive imagination. So she typed up a simple reply, hit send and then sat back in the comfortable leather chair to go through more important mail.

At five, after completing many more chores in the house and out, Mikasa returned home from the post office and went straight back to her in-home gym, working out until six. She showered afterwards, fully feeling the satisfied burn in her muscles. Even the sweat covering her body had been a pleasure, proof of the hard work out that she had done to deserve the sculpted body that she had.

Afterwards she enjoyed dinner by herself on her second floor balcony. It was always a pleasure to sit there and watch the darkening sky that further darkened the sea. The sounds from seagulls and the waves eased Mikasa from the business of her day.

At last, sometime past nine in the evening, Mikasa retired to her bed, exhausted. Other nights she would go to sleep later, but this particular day had been less busy than usual, at least.

Sighing once to herself, Mikasa buried her face into her pillow and then dropped off into an undisturbed sleep.

XxX

The next day started out like they all did, despite it being a Saturday. Mikasa woke at the usual time, jogged and did all the things at the allocated time. The only thing that varied from the usual, however, was when she decided to sit up on her balcony after twelve to read a book she had recently bought. Mikasa would usually read later on in the day, after her work out completely finished, but this time she merely felt a deep desire to read. So she did, sitting on a comfortable chair in the shade, the beautiful horizon spread out before her.

At first Mikasa did not pay much attention to the swaying of the waves, and she got a good few chapters into the book before she finally tore her eyes away from the page to glance over at the sea. Right there, like a small dot, someone surfed expertly on a moderate wave. It piqued Mikasa’s attention, though she looked away to continue reading. The surfer continued to grab her attention, until she simply shut her book and leaned forward onto her elbow, palm pressed to her mouth, eyes trained on the stranger.

It was a blonde woman, small in size. Mikasa’s sharp eyesight easily picked up on her build. Despite her small size, her skill on the large surfboard was impressive and even Mikasa found herself amazed by it.

Eventually too much time passed and Mikasa regretted that she had to leave in order to complete her work out for the day. And so, Mikasa’s strange interest began.

From that day forward, at the usual time of two in the afternoon, the mysterious blonde surfer would make her way over to Mikasa’s beach to ride the waves. At first Mikasa had merely caught her at the same time by chance, but after the first week Mikasa began to notice the blonde’s usual time, and made sure to be out on the balcony at the same time, too—and Mikasa watched her.

A sense of loneliness never entered Mikasa’s heart, but as her weeks of watching the blonde surfer went by, she began to feel the desire to introduce herself. But Mikasa felt too unsure and too childish, and opted instead to merely watch the stranger surf. Even though it was an odd thing to do, Mikasa never questioned this new hobby of hers.

Along the fifth week of the surfer’s continuous appearance, Mikasa was standing by the kitchen sliding doors that led out onto the beach. She sipped lazily on a protein shake, smiling lightly to herself as the blonde stranger did a more daring move on the waves.

This was new—smiling. Nothing prompted Mikasa to smile, and she certainly did not find her own company pleasurable enough to smile just because of that. With no one to interact with, due to the air of power and intimidation that she held around herself, Mikasa barely held a different expression other than her usual stoic one.

The waves calmed down for a good few minutes, but then the wind picked up. Mikasa finished her drink and hurried to wash the bottle before she returned to the door, leaning against the frame.

A large wave neared in, and the blonde surfer prepared herself for it. Mikasa didn’t worry, since she was confident in the blonde’s skill, but apparently the blonde had miscalculated, and when the wave swept by, it took the surfer with it.

To her surprise, Mikasa found herself chuckling softly. She had heard the surprised yell, even from the distance of her home. But then the blonde failed to surface, and when she washed up on the beach, flat on her back, she was unmoving.

Mikasa’s brows connected and she took a breath before calmly taking the many steps down to the beach. All the while her eyes remained on the prone figure of the blonde, until she stepped up right to her and leaned over, eyes watching her chest for breathing.

Her chest rose and fell, and Mikasa breathed a small sigh of relief. Her eyes then went lower, to catch the iciest glare Mikasa had ever seen in her life. Strangely, it sent a tingle down her spine, and she felt a strong desire clash with that glare.

Hesitantly, she cleared her throat. “Are you okay?” she asked.

The blonde’s eyes narrowed and then she turned her head away, glaring off to the side. “Yeah,” she huffed, blushing.

Mikasa swallowed—the woman’s voice was just as icy as her eyes, and it was startlingly attractive. Mikasa held her hand out. “I’m Mikasa Ackerman.”

The blonde sat up, brushing the wet sand from her tangled hair. She glanced over to the outstretched hand, up to Mikasa’s face, and then she snorted and stood. Though she was apparently unwilling to accept help, she was at least fine with introducing herself. “Annie,” she supplied, eyes bored.

Mikasa slowly withdrew her hand, puzzled but intrigued. She watched Annie carefully as the blonde woman went over to her board and picked it up. She did not know what to say, so she merely kept quiet.

Annie approached her, one blonde eyebrow raised. She attempted to wipe most of the sand from her board, and then wiped her hand off on her side before sighing and looking to Mikasa. “What?” she asked.

 _I’m staring,_ Mikasa thought, _and it must look weird._

“I, um, saw you fall and thought that you’d hurt yourself. I’m sorry to have bothered you.” Did normal people speak so formally to each other? Mikasa really wasn’t sure how to do this socializing thing, and the power of the blonde’s eyes kept her from turning and retreating back to her house.

“I’m fine,” Annie replied. She lifted a hand and pointed behind Mikasa. “You the big-shot that owns that house?”

Mikasa nodded. “And the beach.” Annie’s eyes widened slightly and she took a breath to speak, but Mikasa cut in before she could. “It isn’t closed off. I don’t mind others using it, as long as you don’t litter or dump a body.”

Annie seemed amused by the strange murder joke, but didn’t show it. Instead she nodded once and then she turned and headed down the beach towards her car. She could just feel Mikasa’s grey eyes on her, so she sighed lightly and waved once over her shoulder. Looking back, she spotted Mikasa wave back once, awkwardly.

Mikasa could only stand there, dumbly watching the stranger walk away until she disappeared into the distance.

“’Dump a body’?!” she questioned herself, slapping a palm to her forehead. “Way to look like a fucking weirdo, Mikasa.” She sighed heavily, and trudged back up the stairs to her kitchen, wondering when and _if_ the blonde would ever come back.

x

Mikasa's eyes snapped open as her alarm blared out loudly in the morning air, waking her from a deep sleep. She rose quietly, one hand rubbing her eye, the other reaching out blindly to slap the machine off. Eventually, the task was completed and she stood to stretch her arms high above her head. She blinked as the memory of her dream slowly came to her, and shook her head to rid herself of it. Annie's voice had been a constant in her unconscious state since officially meeting her. The woman could not understand why, or how, but it happened... and it irritated her.

Mikasa barely knew the blonde, and after last week's embarrassing attempt at being social, she was determined to keep to herself. All she had done from then on was sit on her balcony and quietly watch the blonde surfer challenge the waves, silently garnering Mikasa's admiration all the more with her bold actions.

The black-haired woman pinched the bridge of her nose and ignored the strange tingle in her stomach. Quickly, she set off to complete her morning routine and left the house to start her jog. The sand flew behind her as she pushed harder with every step, determined to forget her dream. Her eyes focused ahead of her, but then glassed over as blue eyes lured her to another place.

Water splashed against the runner's ankles and immediately jolted her from her daydream. Mikasa stopped jogging and sighed, deciding to end her jog early this time. She was simply too distracted by recent events. She turned on her heel and ran back to her house, changing and jumping into the shower to wash off the wet sand.

The oriental woman sat at her breakfast table in shorts and a t-shirt, a moist towel around her neck. She started her breakfast and made the mistake of looking across from her. On the table, there was a healthy assortment of nutritional food, topped with an energizing drink, and a little bit beyond, was a dark, wooden chair, devoid of an occupant.

Mikasa chewed her food slowly, swallowed, and then dropped her utensils, thinking of Annie. She bit her lip and tried to forget, but failed. Lately, the surfer had been all she could think about, and watching her surf made her feel less lonely, but now... she looked across at the chair once more and stood. She picked up her unfinished breakfast and put it away.

If she could not will the blonde away from her mind, she would simply have to distract herself.

Her workout room had several machines designed to tone any body shape. It came as a luxury for her, being the CEO of a large company, and she took advantage as often as she could. A healthy mind needed a healthy body, she told herself. The oriental woman started her workout with an extensive set of sit-ups, push-ups and topped it with a five-minute plank. She then stretched her body as hard as she could, falling into a centre splits almost effortlessly and crawling forward so that her torso lay parallel to the floor.

Afterwards, the woman straightened and moved to her collection of dumbbells, starting off with five kilograms on both arms and doing three sets of heavy squats. All she could focus on was the burning ache in her arms, the sore muscles in her legs begging her to stop, the sweat sliding down the side of her face, her breath, coming out in perfectly well-timed deep inhalations and exhalations. When she finished, she had nearly made up for the time she had lost for skipping out on her jogging, and decided to take a break.

Mikasa wiped the sweat from her face and crushed a bottle of water against her lips. She closed her eyes in bliss as the water slipped down her throat and cooled down her body. A few droplets sneaked out from the corner of her mouth and tickled her, but she paid them no heed as she quickly focused her mind into building another workout. She could not afford to lose this state of mind and distract herself with thoughts of Annie...

Blue eyes, blonde hair, waves crashing against the shore, the smell of the salty ocean filling up her olfactory senses, her, laying in the sand, beckoning her with a haughty expression in her blues and a cocky smirk...

Mikasa stood stiffly and moved to her heavier weight bars. She rapidly put on twenty kilograms on either side and lied under the bar. With a deep breath, she lifted the bar and brought it down, repeating the action another five times before her arms shook in pain. She replaced the bar and stood, shaking off her daydream and moving to another machine. She continued until noon, then decided she should leave the workout for now and check up on the world.

The oriental woman checked her email, and other than a few employees asking for advice, no one needed her for anything. She watched the news, reviewed her stocks and decided to indulge in a few entertainment videos, mainly skits performed by amateur actors.

At two in the afternoon, Mikasa grew bored and looked around her house. A few dishes needed to be washed, and the laundry was piling up... with a sigh, she stood and set about to clean her bachelor residence.

She never hired someone to do the work for her. She thought it to be lazy and unbecoming of someone whose parents used to work in the same profession back when they were younger. She respected maids and servants, but as long as she had two working arms and two working legs, she could very well clean her own house. Her mother would definitely have a few choice words if she ever relied on someone in that way.

When all was cleaned and put away, it was five in the afternoon. At this time, she usually worked out, but the morning session had tired her out enough, and cleaning the house took up a lot of energy as well, so she opted to skip the evening session and move on to continue her novel on her balcony. Her heart jumped to her throat at the thought of seeing her... Mikasa shook her head and changed into a set of comfortable sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt. She grabbed her latest favourite thick novel and went up to her balcony, breathing in the salty air. The sun warmed her body pleasantly.

Mikasa sat facing the ocean and watched the orange glow of the sky, the trees jostling from the wind, the ever-higher tide climbing to meet the coast and sliding back into the blue abyss. She drummed her fingers on the cover of her novel and fingered the worn bookmark carefully. She watched the horizon, seemingly interested in the waves crashing against the shore, but in reality, her mind lay elsewhere.

Betraying her legendary self-control, Mikasa looked to the side and nearly sagged in disappointment when a familiar car failed to turn up. She memorized the sound of gravel crunching beneath tires, the driver's door opening, followed by the trunk, and then the litany of swears as all the surfing equipment tumbled onto the sand. Mikasa smiled fondly and opened her book, opting to be patient and wait.

A few chapters into the story, and her patience was rewarded generously. She had to fight the smile from her face as her memory shifted to reality; the gravel crunched, the door slammed, and the blonde swore. Mikasa put her novel down and bookmarked her page, quietly observing the newcomer.

Annie trudged down the shore, her board under her arm and a scowl on her face. She stiffly approached the waves and wiggled her toes into the sand. The day had been stressful, and so the only way for her to unwind was to surf. She could feel herself relax just from watching the waves rise up to glory and come crashing down to rubble. The blonde knew she was being watched, and the knowledge of that made her smirk. She resisted the temptation to turn around and greet her diligent admirer, and instead stretched her muscles to loosen up.

With a preparatory breath, Annie grabbed her board and ran out into the ocean. When the water reached her chin, she expertly laid her board on the ocean's surface and climbed atop it, lying on her stomach. She kept a careful watch behind her, but sneaked a few glances upward. She could not help the grin when she noticed Mikasa's head peeking out over the balcony's railing. Decidedly nervous, Annie lifted her torso and sat back, raising her hand to wave at the oriental woman.

Mikasa, surprised, jolted and lifted her head. She blinked once, twice, then laughed quietly to herself. The sound was almost foreign to her ears; it was rare that she let out a genuine laugh. With a warm smile on her face, she lifted her arm and waved back, feeling the awkward atmosphere fade and her nervousness melt into courage.

Maybe tomorrow she would sit next to her.

x

Annie sighed as she parked her car and exited, slamming the door and walking around to her car's trunk. She took out her surfboard and slammed the trunk shut, locking the car with a press of a button. She held her board under her arm and approached the shore nonchalantly. Her surfboard was a pale blue with a white line splitting the middle on top. One black dot was painted on either side of the blue surface. On the other side of the board, there was a set of sharp teeth belonging to a shark, and the shark's jaws were open wide. The teeth lined the edges of the board, while the centre was painted a dark red.

Upon approaching the shore, she noticed a body crouched near the ocean, whipping their arm around as though throwing something. She squinted her eyes and then widened them once the figure stood. It was Mikasa.

The blonde ignored the sudden skipped beat of her heart and unconsciously walked quickly to meet the owner of the beach. She looked up to meet Mikasa's eyes and raised an eyebrow in question.

“Hey,” Annie said quietly.

Mikasa gave a small smile. “Hey.”

Annie smirked. “So, what made you want to come down here and watch?”

“I just felt like it.”

“Oh, I understand.” Annie paused and stuck her board into the sand. She cocked a hip out and rested her palm against it. “I know why you're _really_ here.”

Mikasa turned away to hide a blush and shrugged. “The sun is nicer up close, and the water feels good.”

“Right.”

The oriental girl sighed and shook her head. “Say whatever you like.”

“As long as I don't dump a body in the water, right?”

Mikasa blushed heavily this time and briskly walked forward and sat at the shore. She dug her hands into the sand and wished she could bury her head, too. “Shut up.” That slipped out before she could stop it, and she quickly put a hand to her mouth in horror. She turned to meet Annie's eyes, who had laughed at her expense and was already starting her routine stretches.

“The sun is nicer up close, and the water feels good,” Annie repeated, smiling. She met Mikasa's eyes and lowered her tone to a husky octave. “The sun is nicer up close...”

The oriental girl turned away to look at the waves rising and falling. When she felt Annie run past her, the blonde's bare legs barely skimmed her shoulder and a shudder rippled across her body. She straightened her back and stretched her legs out in the sand, watching the blonde swim far out and then climb atop her board. As a wave approached, Annie began paddling with her arms as fast as she could, then pushed herself up just as the wave lifted her into the air.

Mikasa observed with rapt attention, her eyes trained on Annie's form as the blonde glided across the water with envied ease. She felt a sensation spreading through her chest, and longed to join the blonde there on the wave, gliding with her. She wanted to challenge the blonde to go higher, then lower, and then goad her into performing tricks.

Just her presence was enough to inspire Annie, and the surfer nearly laughed in glee as she crouched and winded her body for a full spin. She gripped the edges of her board and pulled her body up quickly. Mikasa gasped and watched the blonde perform a complete rotation and land safely back to her starting position.

Annie stood and balanced herself carefully, then just as the wave receded, stood on the nose of her board and halted right in front of the black-haired woman. Mikasa, in complete awe, blinked slowly and smirked.

“That was impressive.”

“I know,” Annie agreed, shrugging her shoulders.

Mikasa chuckled slightly and crossed her arms. “That was also really dangerous.”

“I _know_ ,” the blonde repeated, frowning.

The women stared at each other, and the blonde's frown faded as she noticed the sun shining directly into Mikasa's ebony eyes. She blushed and forced herself to look away, glaring at the sun. Mikasa opted to stay quiet and observe, but her eyes trailed to the droplets on Annie's shoulders glittering in the sunlight.

Eventually, Annie sighed and turned around. “Just one more wave, and then I'll leave.”

“Wait!” Mikasa startled herself with her exclamation, and blushed when Annie turned to look at her. “Uh, is it okay with you if I watch? I'm not... creepy, am I?”

Annie smirked. “You're a pretty gorgeous creep, so it's alright.” She turned and ran into the embrace of the ocean, missing Mikasa's sudden panic attack.

“ _Gorgeous creep?_ What's that supposed to mean?”

x

The next week followed a similar pattern. Annie would come by the beach, tease Mikasa, who watched her innocently from the shore, perform a few impressive tricks out on the water, and then tease Mikasa again before leaving. Each time she came by, the feeling to join her would grow stronger and stronger in the oriental girl's chest.

At some point, Mikasa decided enough was enough. She woke up, performed her usual routine and, instead of attending to her emails, opened a hidden closet in her room and pulled out a dusty, ancient surfboard.

The black-haired woman reverently set it on the ground and slid her hand along the grainy surface. She sneezed from the dust and rubbed her nose. She returned to the closet and grabbed her waxing tools. When she returned to the board, she hesitated. Would it be alright to surf again, after what happened so long ago? Would this board still be safe to use?

She had no time to buy a new one, and so she got to work. She rinsed the dust off and dried it out, then carefully applied the wax, rubbing along in circles. Eventually, her arm grew sore, so she switched to the other side and continued the treatment until finally, her board looked decent enough to use.

It was red, with a black, zigzag pattern on top. The underbelly was pure black, however. Mikasa hefted the board under her arm and jogged out of her house. She was already wearing a skin-tight surfer outfit, something she had to dig deep in her wardrobe to find. It still fit, surprisingly, and that gave Mikasa enough courage to pull out her surfboard earlier.

She wanted to try surfing, but did not have the motivation yet. Maybe when Annie got here, she would give it a shot? Mikasa closed her eyes as she remembered surfing from long ago, and the accident...

A horn sounded behind her and the oriental woman turned around in shock. This was much earlier than usual. She still had two hours to go, so why was Annie here now?

Mikasa noticed a change in the car. There was now a surfboard rack on top of the car, where Annie's favourite board lay secured. The blonde jumped out of her vehicle, collected her equipment and approached Mikasa's figure. When she noticed the red and black board, she tilted her head in curiosity and smirked.

"You surf? Or are you just starting?”

Mikasa kept quiet and chose not to answer. Instead, she turned around and ran into the water, much like the blonde surfer did, and waded in deeper than the blonde could, due to her height. Annie took a seat at the shore and leaned back on her arms, her board beside her.

Mikasa cursed the childish impulsiveness that sprang up because of Annie and climbed atop her board. She tried to remember how she used to surf, and when that failed, relied on the memory of Annie effortlessly pulling herself up in time with the wave, perfectly synchronizing her fluid movements with the water.

The oriental woman began strongly paddling with her arms, then just before the wave took her, jumped and straightened her body on the board. She grinned and laughed in delight; the thrill of surfing brought up a happiness she had not experienced for years.

Annie smiled when she heard Mikasa's laughter. She watched Mikasa glide along the water's surface and smirked, impressed. However, it did not last long as she spotted a fatal flaw in the tentative surfer's stance.

Just as Mikasa felt comfortable in her position, her board began to move out of its own volition, throwing her balance into disarray and forcing her to move along with it. However, she failed to keep her torso upright and crashed into the water. Her arms flailed around in panic and a desperate need for oxygen filled her entire being. She felt the wave bring her up to the shore and shuddered as painful memories returned, a phantom ache in her limbs surging to paralyse her.

When she washed up, a few metres away from Annie, her board landed on top of her and that sprung her lungs into coughing out the water that slipped into her windpipe. She gasped for air and stood shakily, wincing at the feel of sand on the back of her neck and in her hair.

Annie approached her soaked figure and scoffed. “You call that surfing?”

Mikasa frowned and glared through the fringe of her cropped hair. “I'll have you know...” She stopped talking, sighed, then pulled up her board. Ignoring Annie's calls for her to stay behind, Mikasa headed back into the ocean to try again.

Annie rubbed a hand down the side of her face in exasperation. “Fine! Go get yourself killed! I'm not responsible for your stupid decisions, you idiot!” she yelled. Without an outlet for her anger, Annie threw her board to the ground and plopped down on the sand, angrily clenching her fists under her and observing Mikasa.

The oriental woman paddled quickly, stood, and almost immediately lost her balance when the wave hit her. She washed up next to Annie, jumped up and ran into the ocean again. Annie groaned and shook her head when Mikasa tried and failed, again, then again, and again until finally the blonde took her aside and forced her to sit next to her.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Annie demanded, shaking the black-haired woman's shoulders.

Mikasa looked at her blankly and turned her head. “I have to try again.” Her ebony eyes appeared dull, lost in another time, another life...

“Stop!”

Annie's nails dug into Mikasa's shoulders and made her wince. The blonde lightened her grip and shook her head. “You're never going to get it, alright? So just stop, relax, and try again another day. Don't kill yourself over a stupid hobby.”

Mikasa smirked and lied back, too tired to care about the uncomfortable feeling of wet sand on her body. “You care about me that much?”

“You're the one who doesn't want any bodies in her water.”

Mikasa laughed loudly and turned on her side. “True.” She watched Annie bathe in the sunlight, and propped her head on her arm. “So... is surfing a hobby for you?” she asked, immediately looking down and using her other hand to trace circles in the sand.

Annie shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. My dad taught me how to surf, and I just love it. It's the one thing I can do that lets me relax and have fun at the same time.”

“I used to surf,” Mikasa admitted.

“I can tell,” Annie dryly agreed. She paused then turned her head to look at her. “You remind me of someone I used to admire, a long time ago...” She looked at the red and black board and tilted her head. “Your board looks familiar, too, but I can't put my finger on it.”

“It's an imitation,” Mikasa replied, a little too quickly, “and I haven't surfed in years because it didn't interest me then.”

Annie smirked. “I wonder what spiked your sudden interest again.”

Mikasa met her eyes calmly and tried her hardest not to shift. “I wonder...”

They stayed that way for a while, staring into the other person's eyes. The blonde shifted a bit closer and Mikasa straightened, resting her body back on her hands. She suddenly grew nervous, and broke their gaze to stare behind Annie, at her beach house. Annie looked behind her as well, and then looked back at Mikasa questioningly.

“U-uhh...” Mikasa started, blinking rapidly, “if you ever find yourself needing a place to stay, or just wanna hang out, or something, um... well, my house is there so come by for a drink sometime,” she finished lamely, internally burying her head in the sand.

Annie's shoulders trembled the slightest bit, but the blonde mastered herself and smirked, nodding. “I'll remember that.” She stood and shook the sand from her body, helping Mikasa up. “I'll catch a few waves and then go home. Are you staying to admire me?”

“Yes,” Mikasa answered without thinking. Then her brain caught up to her mouth and she blushed heavily. “I-I mean...”

Annie laughed quietly and grabbed her board. She calmly walked into the water and peeked over her shoulder to give a sultry look. Without saying a word, the blonde left Mikasa to calm her racing heart


End file.
